Contact Details Company: QuinTron Instrument Company, Inc. Contact: Eric Hamilton, Vice President Contact Email:
[email protected] Address: 2208 S. 38th Street, Milwaukee, WI 53215 USA Phone: 001 414 645 4222 Website: www.breathtests.com following QuinTron’s entry into the market. For more than a dozen years before that, QuinTron Instrument Co. worked in the field of pulmonary instrumentation. In 1976 Dr. Noel Solomons, whilst doing work in the field of nutrition in Guatemala, saw one of the firm’s gas chromatographs which was developed for respiratory gas analysis, and asked whether it would measure trace concentrations of breath hydrogen. At the suggestion of Dr. G.B. Spurr, to whom QuinTron is indebted for the contact, Dr. Solomons visited Milwaukee for a weekend and demonstrated that it could just about do the job he wanted done. This led QuinTron to manufacture GCs for breath tests in 1978. The firm’s engineer, Mr. Thomas Christman, adapted the instrument for a solid-state sensor specific for hydrogen and in 1981 we introduced the MicroLyzers for this special application. From that time forward, QuinTron became dedicated to this special field, and the company developed the line of instruments and accessories which are now marketed around the world. Since this time, the firm has grown considerably thanks to the both the leadership and multiple inventions patented by Dr. Lyle Hamilton, Steve Hamilton, Eric, and QuinTron’s engineers as well. QuinTron is now among the market leaders in the gas analyser market. Eric, whose grandfather helped found the firm, discusses both how he came to join and the work he now undertakes for the company. “Personally, I began working at QuinTron in 1999 assembling supplies while also working other jobs outside of QuinTron (ranging from various types of retail and service industry to working with disabled children). During college, I left the extra jobs and only focused on QuinTron, moving throughout the company to develop and understand as many areas as I could (and wherever help was needed) beginning with product assembly, shipping, customer service, website development, client training, and sales. After college, a position of Director of Sales and Marketing was created for me which allowed me to have more control of developing marketing strategies, content (including website and print collateral) and managing the sales and customer service departments. In 2007, I was then promoted to Executive Vice President of QuinTron and also became part owner.” In addition to his professional work for QuinTron, Eric also organized and provided philanthropic donations to various medical colleges and associations to help contribute to research and provide clinical care to patients throughout the United States and Canada. He is an Honorary Fellow and Pioneer Circle Member with the Institute of Natural Medicine, a Gold Corporate Sponsor with the Wisconsin Naturopathic Doctors Association, and is also a Gold Partner with the National University of Natural Medicine. Strong leadership in any company is crucial, but Eric believes that it is essential to QuinTron’s success, as the firm continuously works hard to ensure that its products are always created to the very highest possible standard. He offers some advice to anyone looking to emulate his achievements and become the success he is today. “For anyone looking to emulate success in any market they are in, they have to enjoy what they do and truly take the time to learn from the ground up, which means starting from the very bottom. Humbleness and humility go a long way, and ultimately your success is not yours alone, everyone that works with you is contributing to the overall success of the company, and each other as individuals both personally and professionally. I would advise anyone looking to succeed as I have not to settle for mediocrity or status quo, but instead always push the limits. You can achieve positive results with time, patience, and great employees that enjoy the company as whole and their specific jobs. “Fundamentally, our decisions as executives do not only affect the company we work for, but also the employees and consumers that help make the company what it is. Be friendly and truly care about the people that work with you, consider them a work family. You must also care about the consumer, because business should not always about profits and loss. If you can give back to the community, do it, if you can help employees with education, do it. If you can achieve a strong sense of camaraderie amongst everyone, including yourself, then you begin to feel less alone and part of the overall team resulting in low turnover, loyalty, and good quality work and ideas to progress the company from all areas.” This collaborative, supportive internal culture is key to the firm’s success, as treating staff like family ensures that they work hard to achieve QuinTron’s goals. This is also extended to patients, as Eric discusses. “Everyone is treated as family at QuinTron and we treat all our customer as if they were family as well. Everyone here has been a patient at some point in their life, and all employees take pride and are emotionally and professionally vested with the products and services we provide, because at the end of the day, there is a patient on the other end that needs help and is seeking that help from a product or service we provide. Employees at all levels have worked or shadowed other departments to have a better understanding of how each employee and role effects all others in the company.” Overall Eric is excited for the firm’s future, which he believes will be bright and prosperous as it seeks to build upon its current success and achieve even greater innovations over the coming months and years. “Looking ahead, one of my main aspirations for QuinTron is to carry on our established global leadership in the breath hydrogen and methane testing field for many more generations. As we continue to expand into additional fields of breath analysis, the continual guidance of public and private research institutes and educators to further develop and commercialize tests and products for a variety of fields and applications including healthcare, environment, public safety, and veterinary sciences is an exciting and fun challenge.”